Anyone done their brake pad changes and/or fluid flush and/or rotor changes?

Any good tips or discussion is appreciated, since this car is a little more complicated than normal cars, like a mustang...

 

But I don't really think the Brakes are...

 

The brakes are just like any other disc brake. Very easy to do. I believe that BrianBrave did a write up on his rotor, brake, brake line upgrade. I made the changes but didnt do a write up on how to. If you were local to Portland you could come over and get some racing Blue brake fluid. I have too much.

MikeR


But then if you were local, we could do the brakes here too.....

 

The service manual provides decent instructions for the brakes (I used it)

I went with Rotex Gold brake pads but next time will switch to Porterfield racing pads - Porterfield also offers a "low-dust" pad for our cars.

Remember to gravity bleed the brakes in proper order (Don't pump the brakes). I suggest ATE Blue Racing Brake Fluid- it exceeds the OEM specs.

If you feel up to the task - then replace your brake lines with SB lines available from both Goodridge and Porterfield.

When I did mine the only rotor option was Disk Italia but now Porterfield offers Drilled & Slotted rotors but I've since seen better deals at buybrakes and brakeworld for the STR6.

 

You will find everyone has their own ideas for brakes. I will share my info. I went to R1Concepts rotors, drilled only, Axxis ceramic pads, Castrol Synthetic Brake Fluid, and Goodrich steel braided lines. The stock rotors are fine, but I would definetly change pads. The fluid change along with lines is necessary if you are going to be doing a lot of braking, like on a road course. If not, I wouldn't spend the money. The pad change will get rid of the dust issue...

 

oh, they aren't anymore complicated than a mustang...you just have to be careful with the brake wear sensors...

 

It was a disaster changing brake fluid on my mustang... First I tried pumping the brakes with those caliper valve stems that open and close, but so much air got in. Finally I tried pressure bleeding, with a pressure bleeder attached to the main cylinder and all 4 wheels screws open. Nothing quite got all of the air out of the line, it was always a little spongy. I might have to take it to the dealer for that....

As for rotors and pads, I plan on just using OEM type or generic items, I dont race at all.... I'll definately look at low dust options though, sheesh our front wheels get so dirty so fast.

 

Leave the brake fluid alone - no need to change this, check out the service schedule. Its a big job and you can get into difficultie very easily!!!

Rotors and and pads are cheap and easy to change. Lots of good advice allready posted I see.

 

Why is changing the brake fluid such a big job?

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve - UK

Leave the brake fluid alone - no need to change this, check out the service schedule. Its a big job and you can get into difficultie very easily!!!...

At least one of us feels compelled to respectfully disagree with your advice.

Relatively inexpensive fluid renewal helps to ensure against costly repairs and, perhaps, catastrophic brake failure. The hygroscopic property of OE brake fluid manifests itself by increasing the likelihood of internal component corrosion - and a continually reduced fluid boiling point threshold - if it’s not regularly replenished. Granted, some may send their Crossfire down the river before corrosion necessitates caliper replacement, or never drive in a sporting enough manner to induce the binders’ fluid to fade. Neither is a pleasant experience, particularly when they can be easily mitigated. For those of us who enjoy getting after it and exploiting his car’s capabilities, proper brake maintenance is not something with which to be trifled, IMHO.

ohnoesaz: Our brake hardware and fluid replacement tasks are remarkably similar to the other cars you’ve worked on – only its hardware is different.


Reference -

Manufacturer specific... https://www.mbwholesaleparts.com/Sta...lushSept04.pdf
Performance oriented... http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp...fluid_1a.shtml

 

I'm due for a brake change and thinking about doing all four since my mileage is getting up there. Will SRT6 rotors fit on a LTD?

 

No - both pads and rotors are different between the n/a models and the SRT6.

As an fyi, I don't race my SRT6 so I replaced the OEM rotors with Centrix rotors (I was experiencing a bad pulsing and believed the OEM rotors to be warped) and the Disk Italia pads as per my signature. Grip is fine, although the pedal has always seemed a little mushier than the pedal in my roadster which is very firm. The pads give off very little dust.

In general, do most SRT6 brake pedals feel very firm with immediate bite or is there some mush before they grip?

 

My pedal pushes down a bit before it grabs, it's not an immediate bite.
23K mi, might need new pads. But maybe it's a normal thing.

 

My brakes are the same as Wedge, they dont grab right away but they were replaced about a year ago. 130k on my NA

 

Do you know if they are ceramic pads? Ceramic pads result in less dust but seem to be less grabby which results in more pedal effort like Wedge and spongy according to another member here.
I have a particular interest in this subject.

 

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Ceramic pads had no difference in my brake pedal issue. Changing the old used OEM DOT-4 fluid did. I think there are many different reasons for a deep pedal feel. My issue was solved with a DOT-4 fluid change using a brake vacuum bleed kit, using the recommended wheel bleed procedure in the service manual.


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I have ceramic pads on both roadsters. The wheels stay pretty clean on those cars and what gets on the wheels is easy to wash off. The SRT coupe still has the factory pads. I have been trying to complete a drive cycle for emissions and have put about 400 miles on in the last few days and the front wheels are very dirty. As hard as the SRT wheels are to clean I think ceramic pads are the only way to go. I don’t feel any difference in braking between the two SRTs.

 

I had trouble getting all the codes cleared for a pollution check. I made a post on what two were the hardest to clear.
I cleared them by going going into town which had various speed limits and turned around and came back on a highway with a 60mph speed limit. The total mileage was about 40 miles. I had driven miles and still the codes persisted.
The recommended Chrysler driving cycle is on this forum, I’ll look for it.

 

I had the same issue three or four years ago, it’s evap system and secondary air system that won’t clear. There are no codes or pending codes, I can be tested with one test incomplete but not two. I have found multiple sets of drive cycle instructions, it’s hard to do ten minutes of 43 mph here, it’s either city driving or freeway, and ambient temps have been quite high lately. I’ll just keep driving, it’s got to get there sooner or later. It’s not all that bad, I could be driving a POS car. Oh, I caused this, I replaced the battery a couple weeks before I took it for emissions and never drove it after the battery swap.

 

Those are exactly the same two codes that I had trouble getting rid of some years back. I am going to check what codes I have now as the battery was disconnected during the winter and I have driven the car for less than 70 miles since.
Here is a PDF of today's reading of the smog check by my BlueDriver, after less than 70 miles there is only one fault and that is the Evaporative System. See the PDF below.
Here is the Drive Cycle that I used to get rid of the two codes the other year. See the PDF below.